FDS
FactSet Research Systems Inc.
FDS offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has a slight edge over FDS overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
FDS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
FDS's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like FDS.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
FDS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $332 | — |
| Current | 23x | $332 | — |
| Cheap | 24x | $349 | +5.3% |
| Fair | 33x | $487 | +47% |
| Expensive | 38x | $560 | +69% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FDS has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS's PE is in its fair range at 15x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
FDS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FDS, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
FDS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.64 | +35% |
| Q3 2026 | $14.57 | -6.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.18 | +9.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.55 | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.72 | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.55 | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.85 | +4.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.07 | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.96 | +13% |
FDS earned $14.57 per share over the past year, down 6.3% from the year before.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS has the edge over FDS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FDS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $634.7M | +6.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $622.9M | +6.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $611M | +7.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $607.6M | +6.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $596.9M | +6.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $585.5M | +5.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $570.7M | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $568.7M | +4.9% |
FDS's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $635M last quarter, up 6.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | -5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 27% | -6.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 30% | -2.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 30% | +7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 33% | -3.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 33% | -0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | -1.2 points |
FDS's operating margin was 25% last quarter, down 5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS has the edge over FDS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS has the edge over FDS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FDS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $177.3M | -0.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $254M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $185.7M | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $90.4M | +49% |
| Q3 2025 | $178.1M | +30% |
| Q2 2025 | $228.6M | +5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $150.2M | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $60.5M | -56% |
FDS has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
FDS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +421K shares |
| 1 year | -4.6% | -1.8M shares |
| 3 years | -5.9% | -2.3M shares |
| 5 years | -5.1% | -2M shares |
| Available history | -5.1% | -2M shares |
FDS has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $138M |
| Q2 2026 | $203.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $163M |
| Q4 2025 | $139.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $106.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $80.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $64.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $48.8M |
FDS spent $644M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 114% from the year before.
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has 1.6B diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago.
FDS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3x | Healthy |
FDS has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
FDS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 83.5 | Overbought |
FDS's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 83 (overbought).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
FDS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | FDS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 13x | 75% above |
| PE % | 17 | 63 | 46 pts below |
FDS is trading at 23x earnings, a 75% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS has the edge over FDS on valuation relative to its sector.
FDS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $306.1 | 8.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $287.2 | 15% above |
| 50 week MA | $259.4 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $330.2 | 0.5% above |
| 200 week MA | $382.9 | 13% below |
FDS has the edge over MS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
FDS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $271.1 | $327.4 | +21% |
| 2021 | $327.4 | $479.5 | +46% |
| 2022 | $479.5 | $398.0 | -17% |
| 2023 | $398.0 | $477.1 | +20% |
| 2024 | $477.1 | $486.6 | +2% |
| 2025 | $486.6 | $292.1 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $292.1 | $331.7 | +14% |
FDS has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.